So, thinking out loud here... (see thread for sources)
1. Most Christians consider Jesus' reference to the temple rising in three days is metaphor for his body, and the term "measure" is in reference to John being advised to do a self-check on his spiritual health/wholeness
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2. Evangelicals, however, believe the temple refers to a physical entity. 3. Evangelicals have pumped 10s of millions into Israeli settlement. 4. Some Israelis have joined forces with evangelicals relevant to building temple.
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5. At least one potential project mentions commencement of temple build in 2019. 6. Third temple means the end time and rapture are coming, something expected in the new millennium 7. Rapture is for Christians who will be in Israel and swept into Heaven when Jesus comes
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8. End time is for the "enemies," who will suffer God's wrath in fire and brimstone delivered by Gog from the north.
1. Aka nuclear war is part of the whole deal 9. Gog is Russia, according to current belief among the relevant parties in Israel and United States
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10. Meanwhile, Trump is seen as the beloved King Cyrus and can do no wrong as his actions are the will of God.
(World without end, amen. Or goodnight, depending on which camp you're in.) 11. Evangelicals go to Heaven 12. The rest of us - kaboom. 😱
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The perception of Trump being chosen by God is the end-all-be-all. He really could stand in Times Square (or wherever) and shoot someone.
Trump really could order families separated and kids kept in cold, hard conditions resulting in illness and death.
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Trump really could let his administration pull off a variation of human trafficking where kids are swept away by a "Christian" organization into foster care, parents sent back, kids held by fosters and stonewalling return to parents (note I had to go to...
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...archive.org...to retrieve this: web.archive.org/web/2018101001…. Alexa's story also reported by The Hill.)
Trump really could give the Middle East to Putin (oh wait, he's already started). Putin's Gog, it belongs to him. Kaboom.
It's ordained. It's God's will. In their minds.
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They really believe this stuff, and this is why (with help from longtime KGB/FSR tactics) we're not able to get so many Trump supporters to see reason, no matter what evidence we provide. That's my opinion, of course, but I've lived around evangelicals, and I used to be one.
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Focus on reasonable people and find the common ground to move forward together (this means you, Dems/Progressives), because the Resistance will lose momentum by trying to debate people who are beyond capacity to apply...
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logical, scientific, evidential, critical, analytical, other-al thinking to that which competes with their beliefs.
The best path I know is to move forward, but listen, paraphrase, ask thought-provoking questions, and try to avoid confrontations. Basically counseling 101.
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Some on the edges will realize something's really wrong, and - as in the case of one formerly nutso-cuckoo Trump supporter I know who just defected - see that Trump's destroying everything and potentially everyone they love. #Resist#IndictTrump
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This guy has Trump's ear.
"Hagee has long advocated for war with Iran, even calling it the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. With Obama’s nuclear deal scuttled and the warmongering John Bolton in place as Trump’s national security advisor..." texasobserver.org/trump-pastor-j…
"How could Christians be so at odds?
One answer is that most of these evangelical beliefs depend on a highly selective use of Bible passages, used in some cases sincerely, in other cases merely to justify one’s own political beliefs."
Here's Hagee (video in last tweet) with Trump and another of him with Pence.
Photo of Hagee with Trump, Pence in last tweet.
Video: Hagee talking about End Time - Armageddon and nuclear war.
The Evangelicals believe in the End Time: millions spent.
End Time includes Russia & nuclear war, but not for Evangelicals, who'll be saved.
"Pence thrilled his audience, quoting from the Prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones: “Ezekiel prophesied, and I quote, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live.’" Religious News Service, July 17, 2017
One of the most common assumptions I see is that Democrats want to win the next election. The actions of some Democrats do not support that conclusion.
If you were an actor or politician and someone offered you tons of money to help big donors and/or the GOP, would you do it? Would you think about it? 2/
Could you even be persuaded to pledge your allegiance to a foreign government at the expense of the U.S. Capitol?
DO NOT CUT MEDICARE, @JoeBiden, end the filibuster and make #MedicareForAll happen if you truly want to be thought of as a modern-day FDR instead of a guy who took us further backward by cutting healthcare during a pandemic.
Joe Biden is no FDR. What an evil, scummy thing to do to the American people, especially during a pandemic. Massive cuts to Medicare because Democrats won't end the filibuster? Cuts to farm aid? With Democrats like these, who needs Republicans?
"The money is right there. It’s spent on bombs instead of homes. On cops instead of kids. On bailing out banks instead of families. Again the only argument against helping people is a lie." - @JoshuaPotash
Democrats have a majority, but Biden's cutting MEDICARE and FARM AID because of... Republicans? FUCK THAT! End the filibuster, you gormless <descending into incoherent and very unflattering mumbling> @SenateDems!
How dare they cut already sparse benefits from some of the most vulnerable people, especially during a pandemic! How dare they shrug away the mantle of a people's majority and pretend it's due to the Republicans' corruption instead of
their own greed and elitism. It's time to move forward and join other first world countries. It's time for #MedicareForAll.
"You all don't get it. I live in Trump country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last places where the KKK still has a relatively strong established presence."
"They don't give a shit what he does. He's just something to rally around and hate liberals, that's it, period."
"He absolutely realizes that and plays it up, they love it, he knows they love it, and the fact that people act like it's anything other than that just proves that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all around."
The U.S. needs a children's vote on issues relevant to them.
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Why? Because they're humans too, and they possess the wisdom of innocence from which we could become a kinder, safer, wiser nation. Their voices should be heard, and right now they're not.
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A children's vote would also educate upcoming generations on the basics of good citizenship in a representative democracy. They would practice these basics such that once they become adults, they will understand and better perform their roles as citizens.